Running From The Wind
by justcallmelucifer
Summary: He was my captor, my torturer, my friend. I was part of his puzzle, but I didn't know which piece. I was just a demon, one of the Jinchūriki. I was meant to be hated, but for some reason, I think he liked me. DeidaraXFū. Rated for language.
1. Home

I'm stupid, but the idea will continue to scream in my head till this is up a running on Fanfiction. Inspiration? Ten Things I Hate About You by Boxin love. I adore that story, as it remains a bookmark on my Internet browser since July.

I guess none of you know who Fū is. Fū is the host of the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle Demon...thing. Now I know she looks orange, but pfft, whatever. She's just TAN in my book. I love her hair though!

Weird couple? I think not! How old do you think she looks? 16...I hope? Uh, yeah. Defiantly not 17. Maybe I'll start her off as 15 and she can grow along with her character development.

Although she's not an OC, she still doesn't have any personality description at all! So, yay! And she looks like a spunky girl!

…

…

…

When I felt my feet begin to burn, I could see that mother had done it again. Her perfect index finger was pointed upwards as she told me how to set the table correctly. I personally thought that paper plates and cheap chopsticks were perfect. I didn't really care.

"The good plates are in the upper left cabinet!" She said and I looked to said place to show that I was at least trying to pay attention. My stomach rumbled and I put my hands over it in an effort to cease the biting pain.

"And cover up for once! You're a disgrace! That shirt is unsuitable."

I let out a "pfft" sound and put my hands over my chest. "I'm fine. This damn thing will rip up my clothes either-" My eyes widen and I looked back to my mother, her face red. I mentally slapped myself. I'm so stupid.

My mother closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. I knew she was trying so hard to imagine me without a demon locked up inside of me, but it was inevitable. She was just too afraid to face the truth.

I sighed and decide that it's a good time to leave. I've skipped dinner before, sleeping under the shadow our village makes for us. I guessed that I'm capable of living in the wild of this village, as water surrounds us. But I know that after a while I will seek the warm embrace of my mother.

I stepped out of our small house.

My white ninja sandals pushed the offensive dirt out of the way in which I was walking. Our house was secluded, in the woods. I looked backwards, over my shoulder. Our house was puny compared to the mansions that filled the town just a few minutes from our secret house. Not that we were trying to be secret. At least, that's what I thought. This house may have been my mother's attempt to keep me out of society.

The little brown roof of our house was topped with a matching chimney that was piping out a soft layer of smoke. Mother was making dinner. Now, she was all by herself.

I turned my head back to its frontwards position and continued walking, or shuffling, forward. I never liked picking up my feet. It felt like a bother. I could walk perfectly fine without ever lifting my whole foot from the ground, thank you very much. Despite the fact that mother reprimands me all of the time for doing so, I do not stop.

The tall, boring trees I've known all my life encased me in some sort of sanctuary. The small, winding path that I took almost every day to get to the city was beat up and had foot prints covering its entire surface. Mother and I can't stay at home with each other for very long. One of us is always bound to be out doing something. We both preferred it that way.

A harsh wind blew through the woods and I wrapped my arms around myself. I shook with frost. Winter was coming, and I should have dressed better. I look at my clothes.

"_Hoe."_

"_Whore."_

"_Skank."_

"_Disgrace."_

"_Disgusting."_

"_Just go die."_

I wore a white, sleeveless top that covered just below my breasts. The fishnet I wore underneath of it was exposed and went down to the end of my abdomen. My arms were covered in white armlets along with my ninja headband tied right above my bicep on my right arm. I wore a short, white apron skirt with fishnet underneath. Tied on my back was my scroll, a weapon my father carried around during The Great Ninja War, before he died. It was covered in red cloth, the straps criss-crossing on my collarbone.

Sure, I didn't wear much clothing.

But how could I, with this _thing_ threatening to pop out every two seconds and kill all of humanity? It was practical. I am not a slut.

My mother was right, though, when she told me to put on a shirt.

I reached the village in about twenty minutes, and I suddenly wished I had brought money.

_Festivals._

Damn my village for being the village that never sleeps. There's a festival or party going on all the freaking time. It tended to get annoying after awhile. But, I dealt.

The smell of cotton candy, origini, and pocky invaded my nose. I wished I hadn't left right before dinner.

When I received my first glare, I turned back.

I couldn't deal with that right now.

My mother was eating alone at our kitchen table, the bowl of ramen still steaming on the table. I smiled.

"Still hot?" I asked, my stomach itching to grab her bowl and scarf it down. My mother looked at me.

"You're lucky, today, Fū. If you had had a long hormonal fit, then you wouldn't have gotten dinner tonight," My mother said, her red eyes glaring at me.

My eyes.

I looked to the picture of my father on our kitchen counter. Soft, brown eyes. Why did I have to inherit everything from my mother?

"What are you doing, just standing there? Eat up!" My mother scolded, nibbling at her soup.

I sighed, grabbing a plate and giving myself a large portion of our supper with the ladle. Ramen suddenly smelt so delicious.

My mother was gone before I sat down at the table, the sound of the television coming distantly from our living room. I ate in silence.

After I rinsed my bowl, I stalked upstairs to my bedroom. Total mess, as always. My clothes, all five shirts and three skirts, were scattered throughout my room. They all mostly consisted of the same color, making my room a blur of white, blue, and black.

'I suppose I should clean up…," I thought, but decided against it, like I always do. One may describe me as lazy, but I just felt like I was conserving energy for when I really needed it.

'Like you ever need energy…," I told myself. I let out a laugh and looked to my revealed bellybutton. "I know you're down there," I said aloud, glaring. I had a fucking bug in my stomach.

I flopped down onto my unmade bed, my back on the mattress. I let out a sigh, the air blowing my minty hair out of the way. I turned my head to the side and saw, curled up on my desk chair, a brown, furry ball.

"Meow," I said out loud, hoping to wake the heap up. Nothing happened.

"Meow!" I said louder, turning onto my stomach on my bed and propping myself on my elbows. The heap did nothing.

"Cat! Wake up!" I said assertively. After nothing happening, I picked up one of the articles of clothing closest to my bed and threw it at the heap. The cat awoke with a low, "_meow," _and stretched its legs. After opening its eyes, it turned and looked for the offender. She glared at me.

"Hello to you too, Mina-chan."

Mina-chan is my cat. I got her when I was six from my father. He said he bought it from an animal shelter but I could tell that by her cuts and disfigured paws that she was found on the streets. She wasn't the cutest cat, but I could safely say that she was my best friend.

Mina-chan listened when no one else listened. Mina-chan spoke when no one else spoke. Mina-chan cared when no one else cared.

I found it kinda of degrading to say that my cat was my best friend, but no one else seemed to ever ask me who my best friend was in the first place, so I supposed it didn't matter. Mina-chan didn't seem to have any cat friends, so we were here for each other.

I stood up from my bed and walked across my room to where my cat was laying. She purred at me when I scratched her underneath her chin and her cheeks. My hand wandered up to her ears, lightly touching the missing parts, the small gaps of skin in her ears. I hummed gently into them. She continued to purr.

Suddenly, I scooped her up in my arms and walked over to my window. Sliding it open, I sat on the floor and stuck my head out the window. The Takigakure wind blew into my room and I sighed. It felt nice. Mina-chan continued purring in my lap despite my lack of petting her, and my hands were out the window. I let the wind blow through the holes in my fingers, through the hair on my arms. My lips curled up slightly, for the first time in a while.

I wasn't a happy person. That was for sure. A scowl or emotionless expression always seemed to don my face. It wasn't that I didn't like being happy, it was just that I didn't have anything in my life that would make me happy.

I had heard all of these stories about girls my age finding love and boys; being completely happy. I rolled my eyes. A boy would never want me. And I didn't pity myself. I was just being realistic. I was abrasive, mean, vulgar, anti-social, and not exactly pretty. The only time a boy ever had a crush on me was when I was five, and that was because I wore dresses all the time and my mother would put flowers in my hair to try to cover up the monster (figuratively and literally) inside of me. He didn't even like me for two weeks. I probably hit him, or something. I can't remember.

Sighing once again, I closed my window and walked to the radio above my small television. I pushed the "power" button and the screen lit up. After a few seconds, loud, obnoxious pop music came from the speakers and I immediately rushed to change it.

I heard my mother yell, "Keep it down!"

I turned the radio setting off and changed it to CD. Feeding a CD from my shelf to my radio, I pressed the play button and turned the volume dial down.

I sighed.

Peace.

Light drum beats followed by piano seeped out of my stereos. I closed my eyes, standing in the middle of my room, taking in the sounds. Although this sounds cliché, music was my only escape. I sat down at the edge of my bed and patted my thighs along with the beat. I kept rhythm. I whistled.

My mind wondered to the time this song was recorded. I imagined a man, about forty years old, thumbing a bass guitar with a girl a little younger jamming out on the drums. Then, off to the side, unnoticed, was a man about thirty years old in wore down shoes. His fingers played magically on the ivory keys of the piano, his shoes tapping along to the beat. I envied them. I envied _him._

Oh, how I would kill to be able to play piano. I would play and play until my fingers bled. I would give anything to be taught. My goal, my dream, despite being a ninja, is to fully learn how to play the piano. It was such a beautiful instrument, in my opinion. How easily you can make such a beautiful noise, with just the touch of your fingers, is stupefying to me. But my mother disagrees.

After begging, and begging, and _begging _to take lessons, my mother still refused.

"_We don't have the money," _My mother had said. I had glared at her with hateful eyes.

"_This is my dream, mother. Please." _

"_**No."**_

I gave up. I could deal with being a ninja for now. Maybe one day I'll be on a mission and see a man willing to give free classes.

My ears perked up at the beginning notes of the second track. I flopped down on my bed and turned my head to look at my clock. It read 6:36 p.m. I sighed. I was bored again.

I've been bored all of my life. My whole life consisted of boredom. I had no one to hang out with, no leisurely activities besides watching T.V. and listening to music, and no hobbies. The only thing that really filled up my day was training at the training grounds in town, but even then I was bored.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes, sitting up into a sitting position on my bed. I turned my head to the still playing radio. I eyed the handle at the top. It was about time for a trip.

Pulling my legs over my bed and onto the floor, I latch my fingers around the handle and opened the window using my free hand. The cool night air blew into my room and Mina-chan "meow's" angrily.

I turned to her. "I'll be back before ten," I whispered, throwing my legs out the window. Mina-chan blinked and went back to sleepy quietly. I turned back around and made my escape.

My feet hit the ground with a "_thump._" I ended up on the ground in a crouched position. Still in that position, I turned my head in both directions to check for anyone. Mother might have been on her nightly walks. Not seeing anyone, I quickly jump upwards and sprint into the woods.

I dodge the rough branches of trees, jumping from tree to tree. My ninja-beaten feet were used to the rough pressure that is put on them from this method of traveling, so I felt no pain. I traveled like this for a good ten minutes, before jumping off into a clearing.

What stood in front of me was what looked like a huge pile of tree branches and dirt, surrounded by a large field of grass. The pile of dirt and branches was massive, more than twice my height. Some pieces of debris could be found inside of it, along with a few worms. A small amount of grass was growing around it, growing out for about ten feet, then being encased by trees again.

It was like a sanctuary.

I had "built" this place when I was ten years old. I was lonely, tired, and sad after a day at the academy and went for a walk in the forest. Because I didn't know how to travel by tree yet, it had taken me about two hours, after getting severely lost, to find this place. I had been blinded by tears when I found it, but I immediately had known that I would return.

I smiled. Taking a step towards the pile of dirt, I grabbed the radio tighter. My feet lead me to the pile and I stuck my left foot into the dirt. I began to climb.

It took me about five minutes to reach the top of the pile, and once I had reached my destination I sighed and sat my butt on the peak layer of dirt. It wasn't really a peak, more like a rounded top. It was wide enough for me to lie down on, and that's just what I did. I ripped off my ninja sandals and dug my feet into the dirt.

I sighed. This is what I lived for.

I had almost forgotten about the radio. Remembering it, I pressed the "power" button and let the piano fill the air. I looked at the trees. I wondered if they were thankful for the music. If I were a tree and a young girl with a radio came near me and played some classical music for me, I would be pretty happy.

I wondered if anyone in the village appreciated music like I did. They always seemed to have festivals there, but always with upbeat violins and obnoxious trumpets. Never had I heard a piano.

Ugh.

_Humans._

I knew it was hypocritical to say, but I hated humanity.

The way people were so ignorant of everything around them, so unthankful for everything given to them. They were _so fucking obnoxious_. They don't realize the troubles people go through every day. They don't know what it's like to have a fucking demon inside of them, threatening to destroy their whole lives along with all the people they love. (Meaning two people, one not even being a person.)

I guess that was another reason why I don't have any friends.

I could feel the anger seeping into me and I clenched my fists. "Don't let it take over, Fu. Don't let it take over. It's not worth it. Calm down, calm down," I whispered to myself. In the midst of my consoling, I heard a twig snap.

With my senses heightened, my head snapped up. My eyes were a darker red than they usually were. I wasn't completely myself, and I knew it. I was probably imagining things.

My breathing was still erratic from the demons power, and I could feel my heartbeat pound in my ears. My fingers twitched. Suddenly, a low hum was sent throughout my little sanctuary. I didn't know if I was imagining it or not.

My eyes shot around me. Something was here.

I didn't know if this was my anger getting to my head, or if this was a legitimate threat.

Agitated, I screamed out, "Who's there?"

A jingle of a bell followed my echoes. Then there was a low pitched chuckle. I stood up, fumbling on the unstable ground. I reached for my kunai knife in my left pocket. My demon thirsted for blood, of any type, and I knew it.

Suddenly, the noises stopped. My heart still raced, but I heard nothing. A familiar twig snapped, and my head quickly shot to the direction it came from. I narrowed my eyes, a flash of blonde coming from my peripheral vision.

I shook. It was time to get out of here.

I forced my legs to get myself down the dirt pile. Once I reached the ground, my legs were flying in front of me, my body flying through the woods. My breath was heavy and I had a layer of sweat covering my body.

I was greeted by my house with no source of light. My mother must have gone to bed. I stumbled to find the wall of my house, slowly molding my feet to the wall and walking up it into my bedroom window. My light was still on and Mina-chan was curled up in the window sill. My eyes glanced at her and I scurried past her to my drawer. I grabbed a tee-shirt and black shorts, pulling them on and flopping onto my twin bed. I put my hand on my heart. Why did I feel so threatened back there?

I shut my eyes and recalled the blur of blonde in the corner of my eye. Birds didn't come in those colors. What the hell was that?

I pulled my comforter up to my shoulders, feeling as if a layer of protection was around me. I turned to my side, my mind making up random images of that night's events. My muscles relaxed and I lulled into a nice sleep.

I slept with the nights on that night.

…

…

…

Will be updated on: Sunday, January 31, 2011


	2. Streets

Yay! Chapter two! I found this story while I was bored and was looking through my old laptop…and bam! Here was the story I abandoned! But I'm picking it back up! And I'm currently in love with it!

I currently have the first ten chapters planned out in detail for this story. I'm excited! I have a feeling this is going to be quite an epic journey, for me and Fū.

…

…

…

My dreams were vague that night, and I woke breathing heavily. My arm raced to my wrist to get my pulse. I closed my eyes, my brain begging for more sleep. I groaned.

My dreams that night consisted of the noises I heard at my little sanctuary, along with vivid images of what I imagined my demon to look like. I didn't even take the time to connect the two statements. I doubted they had any significance in my life, only that I was still unnerved about last night's events. I sighed. Well, I digress.

My eyes shot to my clock on my bedside table and I took a double take. 9:15 a.m. My room was still bright from the light I left on all night, but it still felt as if it were one in the morning. I fought with myself, debating whether I should get up or go back to sleep.

_Clank!_

Mother was cooking.

Groggily, I stood up from my bed, my feet touching the cold, wooden floors of my bedroom. I stood up and stretched. I yawned and bent down to touch my toes. Waiting 15 seconds, I planned my days activities. Eat. Train. Eat. Train. Come home. Eat. Take a walk. Sleep. It was what I did every day.

Standing straight up once again, I slipped on some white socks and walked out into the hallway, swatting my bedroom light switch off. Mother's going to bitch about the electricity bill again, but I could care less.

The smell of oatmeal wafted from downstairs and up to the staircase. I hesitated at the top of the stairs. Turning to look at myself in the mirror of the bathroom whose door was wide open; I saw that I was a mess. My hair was sweaty and tangled and my eyes were bloodshot. I obviously didn't sleep well last night.

I combed my hand through my damp hair, trying to ease out the tangles. I continued this process until I reached the bottom of the stairs. I took in a deep breath through my nose to take in the warm smell of oatmeal. My mouth watered and I felt like I hadn't eaten in days.

"Fū! Come here and eat up. I let you sleep in this morning, so be grateful!" My mother ordered me. I nodded and walked toward the table.

"Thank you, mother. Can't wait to chow down," I say, sleepily. My mother rolls my eyes at my word phrasing. That was one thing my mother didn't have. With all of her good looks, her long, sweeping, green/gray hair, and light pink eyes, her perfectly chiseled body, even for a woman in her late thirties, my mother looked and was amazing. But she couldn't take a joke. Ever.

My mother sat down at the kitchen table, two bowls of oatmeal in her hands. She slid a bowl over to where I was sitting at the table. I eyed it carefully. A good, hearty bowl of hot oatmeal sat in front of me. It didn't look very appetizing. I sighed and picked up the spoon, shoving a big spoonful into my mouth.

My mother eyed me. "What are you huffing and puffing about?"

I retorted quickly. "Nothing, I didn't sleep very well last night."

My mother hummed a low sound in response. "And why is that?"

I shrugged, my shoulders tight from my awkward sleep last night. "I'm not quite sure. I had a nightmare."

She didn't even bother to ask what it was about. I had nightmares all the time. I didn't want to even hint at me sneaking out last night. I didn't even know if she knew that I snuck out almost every night. Being my mother and all, she'd probably be enraged and lock me in my room. She doesn't even like me going to the village for training.

After I finished my oatmeal, I stood up and rinsed it in the sink and stuck it in the dishwasher, along with my mother's bowl. She had gone up to her bedroom to get ready for work, for she was a receptionist at the village library. It was the job she had when she met my father and she refused to quit. I didn't quite understand her motives, but apparently people do crazy things for love.

I knew my mother missed my father greatly, as did I, but I suppose I wasn't as close to him as she was. I knew him for six years, and despite him being my father, I always thought he had some sort of resentment towards me for being a jinchūriki. The way he would look at me while we were training, the times his eyes would glare at my bellybutton, wondering what kind of power could be released.

My hands drifted towards my stomach.

I felt heat generating from my naval, my cold hands contradicting against the warm skin. I lifted my hands in front of my face. My nails were cut and not painted, unlike some of the girls my age. I didn't understand how one can battle for their lives while cosmetics cover their body. It didn't make sense to me.

I smirked. Thank god I was a Chunin.

My Genin days were hell. I was put with two boys named Akeno and Jomei.

Akeno was a short and freckly blonde boy who has a weird twitch and couldn't grasp a kunai knife correctly. His hands would always be moving and he was nervous every second of the day. Right before each mission he would list out everything possibly unfortunate that would happen to us. Thus, the rest of our nerves were shot.

Jomei was a boy with light blonde hair and terrible teeth. He would always be day dreaming and had a deep fascination with music. He had this little MP3 player he'd always keep in his pocket and would listen to it during practice and missions. Our Jonin leader, Maro, would yell and scold him constantly for it, but he never stopped.

Overall, I suppose we were a good team. We never really got in the "best friends" sort of thing a lot of the other genin teams did. We would cooperate on missions, do our work, and train together, but that was it. None of them seemed prejudice against me because of the demon, but I always knew they were slightly wary around me. I understood why and didn't really talk to them about it, for I had been used to being ignored by that time.

After I turned fourteen I enrolled in the Chunin exams, fighting with and past my fellow comrades. Akeno failed the first section of the exam, while Jomei and I made it out alive. We both were given Chunin ranks and went our separate ways.

After that I didn't really speak to anyone other than Shibuki, our leader, and my mother.

I straightened up from my position by the dishwasher and made my way towards the front door. I needed some fresh air.

"I'll be back in awhile," I told my mother, hearing her grunt in response.

I started walking on the short dirt path to the village but suddenly felt the need to move faster. My legs cramped up. I stopped and rubbed my sore muscles, stretching slightly, and then proceeded to run.

I tore through the dirt, bringing up a large mass of dirt into the air behind me. I smirked and picked up the pace.

By the time I reached the village I was sweating slightly, my green bangs sticking to my forehead. I stopped and took out the red clip in my hair, readjusting it. I made my way into the village.

No festivals were going on today, and for that I was thankful. People stared at me, for I didn't really come to the village that moment. I could deal without hatred from the place I lived.

I took a deep breath and stopped at a small farmers market in the village square. I walked to a fruit stand and pulled out some yen from my skirt pocket. The cashier glared at me, and when I asked for an apple he grunted. I grimaced and took my fruit, giving him the respectful amount of money.

Biting into the apple, I took a look at my surroundings.

The village was hustling and bustling, many stay-at-home wives out getting groceries. Many women stayed and talked at some of the markets, while others got down to business and shopped. Some brought their small children, holding their hands so they didn't wander off. I wondered if my mother ever did this to me.

When one of the mothers would pass by me, they'd turn their head, and continue walking.

They all knew who I was.

I was the village monster.

One time, when I was leaning against an electricity pole at the market, a little girl came up to me.

"You're hair is green! Can I touch it?" Shocked that someone would talk to me, I took advantage of the situation and leaned down, letting her touch my abnormally colored hair. When I was first born, I thought it was a defect from my demon. But once I learned about genetics in the academy, I made sense of my mother's green-grey hair. Mine was more of a bright, minty green, which made me stand out like a sore thumb in a crowd, along with my red eyes and tan skin. It was all brown hair and brown eyes here.

The little girl stretched out her hand to touch my hair when her mother came up and grabbed her outstretched wrist. The girl whined in protest but the mother did not let go. The mother looked at me with wide eyes, probably thinking that if her daughter touched me she would get some of my demon inside of her.

"Cho-Chan, let's go. You know not to talk to strangers," the mother said, dragging Cho away. I glared daggers into her back.

"Yeah, like I need to talk to a bitch like you," I said out loud, though I doubt anyone heard me. I ground my teeth together.

"Well, fuck you," I said to particularly no one. I had a temper, and almost everyone knew it, despite not knowing me at all. If you set me off, I would scream so many obscenities at you, you won't know how to talk anymore. My potty mouth wasn't approved of by my mother, but I could care less. I wasn't fourteen anymore.

I lifted my arms above my head, interlocking them and stretching. I had a thing for stretching and flexibility. I found it extremely relaxing and, along with training, a good outlet for my anger.

It was around noon, and I was bored. I wandered around the village, searching for some entertainment, but found nothing. I saw some teenagers my age hanging out, and I wondered what it would be like to hang out with them. To have friends. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be as bored as I was then.

After searching for awhile, I found a small little shop that didn't seem to have a name. I mind wandered and I thought about what harm could be done if I walked into it, and I deemed it to be none. The shop was covered in purple velvet and glitter, with a soft guitar song playing in the background. It could have used some piano.

When I opened the door a small old lady jumped up at the cash register. It seemed as if I was her first customer in ages. Her fingers were all wrinkly and old, and she wobbled when she walked.

"Oh! Hello there dearie!"

My eyes shot back and forth. Was I the only one hearing this?

"Hi…," I said, cautiously.

"What can I do for yah?" She said in a heavy accent, obviously not from Takigakure. That's why she wasn't being a complete asshole to me.

I pondered this situation for a moment. In front of me was a woman, slightly unnerving, who didn't know who I was and what was inside of me. For this one moment, I could actually have a civil situation and conversation with someone. I could actually see how people normally live their lives.

The woman picked up her long red skirt, walking towards me in a hurried passion. My eyes rolled around my head as I surveyed the room. Various desks were placed around the room, not matching in style or placement. Some were placed against the walls and windows that if you looked through you could see the farmers market. On these desks were trinkets, mainly jewelry, consisting of skulls and gems. Just then did I notice the heavy perfume like smell suffocating the store.

It was a nice place, if you were a fan of gothic accessories.

"Oh, I was just browsing…," I said, trying to act like I thought any normal person would act. I realized how bad my social skills were. Usually, I didn't have to talk to anybody.

The old woman gave me a look I didn't recognize. "Nobody goes browsin' in my store," she said lowly. Her voice was raspy and dark, giving off a vibe I didn't quite enjoy. I stood up straighter.

I didn't see the reason to reply, so I stayed silent and slowly wandered around the store. They had quite a lot of things to purchase, such as necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, even a small piercing stand in one of the corners of the building. I walked to the table with a small sign that read "spiritual."

Smirking slightly, I picked up a necklace with a black chain and a red circle dangling off of it, the circle the size of the pad of my thumb. I eyed the thing carefully, wondering how a piece of obvious plastic was spiritual.

I set the red necklace down.

My eyes flew across the supposedly "spiritual" jewelry, my vision locking onto a particularly simple necklace of the bunch. While most of the pieces of jewelry had extravagant beads and sequins, this one had a simple black, woven neckpiece connected to a grayish black circular pendant. The pendant looked as if it were a compass, with symbols all along the sides like a clock. In the middle were two lines intersecting, making a lowercase t. I picked it up, running my thumb over the etched in t. The metal of the object was cold to the touch.

"That one's especially special," the storekeeper said.

I jumped slightly, turning my head around to face the old woman. I glanced down at the necklace and gave her a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

She smirked. "These necklaces are very…different. They, unlike the others, do something mentally to your body, not physically. They come in many forms, such as strength, mentality, intelligence, protection, and mindfulness. I cannot tell you what that very necklace possesses, for that is for you to find out on your own."

I eyed the piece of jewelry that I could probably buy at the grocery store.

The necklace was pretty. I tied it around my neck, for there was no clasp at the back. I looked at my reflection in the glare of the window, as it was getting dark.

I looked no different, despite the fact it looked like I had a rock tied around my neck. For some reason, I smiled. I checked the price tag.

Deeming it reasonable, I proclaimed, "I'll buy it."

The woman smiled. "I promise you it will come in handy in the future."

I hummed in response, handing her my yen and exiting the shop.

The bright streetlamps of the village made me squint and shade my eyes with my hands. I suddenly remembered why I didn't go out to the village at night. I hated bright lights. I walked along the nearly deserted streets, my necklace thudding against my collarbone with every step.

When I reached the outskirts of the village I sped off into the forest, not bothering to take the dirt path to return to my house. Besides, I didn't feel like returning home just yet.

Launching down from the high trees, I landed on the small amount of grass there was surrounding my so called sanctuary. I landed in a roll, crouch, and then the upright position. I stood there for a moment, regaining my breath. I looked up to my dirt pile, dreading the climb up like I always do, but I began to climb anyway. I reached the peak in my normal amount of time, laying down with my legs outstretched in front of me and propping myself up on my shoulders. I let out a huge breath.

I supposed I was good at being alone. I never really had to choose otherwise. I guessed that if I were thrown into a room of teenagers my age who had no idea who I was, I would have no idea what to do. I'd be awkward and silent. So why the hell was I always so pissed off about being alone all the time?

I laid back onto the dirt all the way, closing my eyes. I knew I shouldn't nap, for mother would get worried. My eyelids grew heavy and I closed my eyes for only a moment.

I awoke screaming.

My hair was completely damp, sticking to the back of my neck and forehead. I lifted my hands in front of my face, watching them visibly shake. I shivered. My dreams were fucked up.

I saw myself falling into a huge pool of water, sinking to the bottom in an extremely slow process. I'd try to kick and pull myself up, but my efforts were futile. I let out a breath, my air bubbles floating to the surface, and I briefly begged to follow them. I flailed and sunk deeper into the water, taking in water in my attempts to breath. I coughed and blood came out of my mouth, turning the water in front of me red, and suddenly, the whole pool turned a violent red.

Giving up, I accepted death and let myself sink. Before I closed my eyes for the final time, a pair of red and black eyes flashed before me, piercing into me. I started screaming.

I was panting while I stood up, looking around me, and began running towards home. I sprinted. I didn't even take time to think about what could have possibly been going on. I just started running. Tree branches caught on and ripped my skin, but I didn't notice or care. I threw open the front door to the house, hurriedly slamming it closed and locking it. I turned to my side to see if my mother was in the living room. When I found the living room lights to be off, I quickly turned them on for more light. I sat on the couch, pulling my legs to my chest and hiding my face behind my knees. For the first time in awhile, I was scared.

My sanctuary didn't seem so safe anymore.

Breathing deeply, I calmed down, to the point where I could make myself some dinner. I checked the clock on our microwave, seeing it to be nine at night. I sighed. Mother was probably still out, thank god.

After consuming a small amount of noodles, I decided on going to be early. Stalking up the stairs, I changed to my usual sleeping attire, briefly using the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. Later, I crawled under my covers, flipping off my light switch.

I stayed there for awhile, just looking at my ceiling. I was on guard for strange noises and images, but I came up empty. I was on edge, and I needed to calm down some more. I heard my mother come in while I was slowly drifting off to sleep. Comforted by the fact I wasn't alone anymore, I dozed off.

…

…

…

Next chapter: Deidara!


	3. Red Faced

Okay, so I've just started writing chapter three, and I haven't even posted the first chapter yet. I wanted to get to about the fourth chapter or so before I post the first one so I have some leeway and I'll always update on time. I hope this method will work, for swim team is ending soon so I'll have even more time to write. (By the time I post this swim team will probably be over.)

Anyways, I really hope you all enjoy this chapter! We get some sort of Deidara smexiness here!

…

…

…

Mina-chan was scratching at my door by the time I woke up. She growled angrily and began to chip away the white wood of my bedroom door. Groaning myself, I lifted my hands to wipe away the sleep in my eyes, slowly prying them open. I yawned. I think I actually slept well that night.

My feet weren't covered by my blankets, popping out at the end of my bed. I shivered and curled up into a ball, trying to go back to sleep. I didn't bother to check what time it was, even though my room was completely illuminated by the outside light. For some reason, fatigue completely took hold of.

While I was almost fast asleep again, Mina-chan got angry and hopped up onto my bed, letting out a "_meow_" in mid-jump. I reawaken, startled at the sudden pressure and movement on my abdomen. I let out a sigh.

"Mina-chan, get down," I say, scolding. The cat does nothing in response except for stare at me, which I return automatically. This continues for a few moments before Mina-chan lets out another growl. I suddenly become aware that she's gonna take a crap on my bed.

"Oh, Jesus, Mina-chan. Hold on," I say, picking her up. She lets out a frustrated noise when I do so, opening my bedroom door and thrusting her out into the hallway. She would make it to her kitty litter box by herself. I honestly didn't care if she pooped anywhere except for my room. My mom would have thrown a fit, as she always does, and I'd clean it up, but at least it wasn't in my room.

Mina-chan went running down the stairs and goes left into the kitchen, where her litter box was. Before I followed her, I shuffled into the small bathroom in the hallway. It was mostly used by me, for my mother had her own private bathroom connected to her bedroom.

I flipped on the light switch, the white countertops and mirrors of the bathroom becoming brighter than they were before. I squinted and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I scratched the back of my neck, feeling my still damp hair from last night. My face looked saggy and my eyes had bags under them. I lifted up my bangs to check for zits but came up empty, thankfully. I stretched my arms, rolling them around in circles and cracking my knuckles. I laced my hands behind my back and leaned down, my connected arms going into the air. I sighed at the mild pain, but enjoyed it.

After my stretching, I turned on the shower and let it get hot while I used the toilet. Putting my hand into the shower, I felt its temperature. Seeing that it was hot, I stepped in carefully, adjusting to the change in temperature. I sighed in content, standing in the relaxing shower for about three minutes. After snapping back into it, I went throughout my daily showering process, like shampooing, conditioning, and washing. I shaved my armpits and legs of their strange green hair and sang a bit, humming along to the tune of a piano piece I was fond of.

I shut off the water and stood inside of the shower for a few seconds, letting excess water drip off of me. I grabbed a towel I hung on the hook of the bathroom wall and wrapped it around myself, carefully stepping over the tub of the bath and stepping onto the cool tile. I dried myself off and wrapped the towel around my head like a turban so I could dry my hair.

Completely naked, I crept back into my room (which was across the room) with the towel still around my head. Embracing my ninja skills, I made it over silently and completely unnoticed.

Entering my bedroom, I rummaged through my drawers, picking out a teal blue shirt with sleeves that came down to my elbows. I slipped on some white shorts and fishnet underneath them, being exposed. I wrapped both of my arms from the elbow down in white bandages and tied my ninja headband to my left bicep, right where it was yesterday and the day before. I dug a brush through my short, now dry hair and put my red clip on my bangs, keeping them situation. I sighed at my appearance.

I grabbed some white bandages and tied my weapons case around my left thigh, the compartment being filled with all of the gadgets I need for training. I tied my red scroll around my back and left the bathroom.

I walked down the staircase and into the kitchen, glancing at Mina-chan's kitty litter and seeing her still parked inside, crouching. My mother had a bowl of rice and some vegetables on the table and I didn't question her choice of food. I usually just ate what was in front of me.

Sitting down, I looked to my mother. She was returning my look, and we had an awkward moment of just looking each other in the eyes. I was the one to break the silence, clearing my throat.

"Um, good morning," I said, my voice still raspy from awakening. My mother scratched her forehead.

"Hello, Fū," My mother said quietly. I eyed her, feeling the strange need to actually make a conversation this morning. Cautiously, I spoke.

"How are you?" I asked.

She looked at me, her face bored and expressionless. I sighed.

"Good," She said shortly, not bothering to return the question.

"Anything new?"

My mother raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, actually. I was in the library yesterday and I overheard a fellow co-worker talking about how the police had told her to look out for suspicious looking people in the village. Apparently some sketchy personnel have been cited in the village, so just keep a watch out."

I snorted.

"Mom-," She stopped me before I could protest.

"Just promise me you'll be careful."

This was the first time in awhile my mother had shown any actual concern for me. For a moment, I just sat there, chewing on my rice and vegetables. After a few moments, I swallowed and opened my mouth.

"Mom, I can handle any type of shit the world throws at me," I said confidently, taking another bite of my breakfast. My mother sighed angrily.

"Language so early in the morning…," she trailed off, and I didn't bother replying.

I finished eating and cleaned my dishes along with my mothers. After she had left for work, I let Mina-chan outside and slipped on my white ninja sandals. My muscles ached, but I felt the need to train.

I stepped outside of the house and into the cool, brisk morning air of Takigakure. I took and a breath and started running, getting myself warmed up for today's training. I paced myself and made my way around the village, maneuvering through the forest and jumping on top of rooftops.

Reaching the training grounds I smiled and dug my hand into my weapons pouch. Pulling out a kunai knife, I threw it directly at one of the trees around the grounds with a target on the trunk, hitting it shy of the bull's eye. I sighed and threw another one, more angrily, and missed my target even further. Frustrated, I walked up to my targeted tree, plucking out my knives, and stepping backwards.

I threw again, with more force, and missed again. I retried this technique over and over again, for about an hour. Digging the kunai out of the tree and stepping back again, I lifted my arm and was about to throw once again, when a voice interrupted me.

"Try doing it more slowly, yeah. You're not aiming, just pushing. Try focusing," the voice said, and I noticed its deep qualities. Low, smooth, defiantly male. I looked behind my shoulder to find a boy who looked about my age with short, cropped brown hair and teal eyes. His skin was a nice tan shade and he was quite tall. I marveled at him. It had been ages since a boy had talked to me.

"W-what?" I stuttered, at a loss for words. The boy, no, _man_, came up to me and grabbed my arm with no hesitations. I gasped inwardly and stiffened. The boy snorted.

"Calm down, I don't bite, yeah," he said and I relaxed a bit. My heart was beating out of my chest and I had no idea what to do in this situation. Do I tell him to go away? Talk to him? Take his advice? Had he not heard about me, the demon girl from this village? I assumed this man was new.

"Here, do it like this." He took my kunai out of my hand and stood there for a moment, aiming. I let out a sigh and wondered how red my face was.

The man threw the kunai with exact precision, the knife flying through the air at a slow but steady speed, hitting the bull's eye straight in the middle.

I gaped.

"I-I could have done that," I said weakly. What was I talking about? He had just stood there and watched me for the last hour, seeing that I couldn't make the target. I was so stupid.

The boy laughed, walking up to the tree and getting the kunai. He looked back at me.

"Sorry to say, but you sorta suck at throwing, yeah."

I flushed and glared at him. What the hell?

"Um, what? I bet I can do better than half of the Jonins right now, and I can beat the shit out of all of the Chunins my age. You're probably some crazy ass foreign ninja from the sound coming here to murder Shuzuki and everyone in the village, so you can go fuck yourself."

I mentally facepalmed. I really needed to learn how to control my anger.

The boy didn't seem to get angry, as he just laughed again. I noticed he had a nice laugh, along with teeth. I clenched my jaw. I wanted to say I was sorry but I didn't know how.

"You have some crazy anger issues, and I just met you. I wonder how your friends handle you," he said, handing me my kunai back. I took it, our fingers brushing together for a moment, the friction burning up my fingertips and all the way up to my shoulder. I had never felt that feeling before, and I gasped.

I relaxed my jaw, and while stuffing my kunai back into my pack, I muttered, "Yeah, friends."

He didn't comment, just walked behind me. I turned to follow him.

"I'm Ryuu," He said, and I looked at him strangely. He obviously didn't know who I was. I decided to formally introduce myself, as I always imagined I would if someone would ever actually talk to me.

"Fū," I said. All that planning and this is what I come up with.

"Our names rhyme, yeah," Ryuu said, smirking. I didn't even realize that and I wondered why it mattered. My face deadpanned.

"So. Why exactly are you here?" I asked, and Ryuu seemed somewhat dejected. I wondered why.

"I just moved here, and I wanted to see the sights, yeah. Lucky for me I get to meet a pretty girl like you on my first day here."

My face burned. My mother didn't even call me pretty. I knew that the girls my age had a name for this stuff, but I didn't know what it was. My hands unconsciously wandered to my hair, twirling it around my right index finger.

"Uhh…thanks," I replied, not knowing how to return the compliment. I don't think he would have enjoyed being called pretty. His arms wandered up my own and I froze again, my muscles becoming rigid. I forced a smile and my stomach filled with butterflies. I let out a low laugh.

"Relax," he said, "I can tell you've never had a boyfriend."

My face fell, but I accepted the truth. My eyes diverted to the floor and my face turns rosy. I could hear his grin. I felt his hand wander from my arm to my neck, slightly fingering the tips of my hair. I blush, never having this type of contact before. I begin to stutter.

"W-what are you doing…?" I whispered, unsure of this situation, but he let out a low 'hush' sound. I stop.

"Your hair is a nice color, yeah. Do you dye it?" He let out in one breath and I take one in. In my dreams, I've been asked this question a million times. In reality, this was the first time, and I didn't know how to answer. I grinned a little.

"No. It's natural," I said with pride, suddenly loving my hair.

"Hmm," the boy mumbled and quickly pulled away. I was slightly shocked by the sudden movement and I looked at him questioningly. I found him sitting on the grass, his legs crossed, in a thinking position. He looks as if he's inviting me to sit down also, but I remain standing. He waits for a moment and after processing that I wasn't going to be joining him, he spoke.

"So, Fū, tell me more about yourself," he ordered suggestively. I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, I'm fifteen, turning sixteen in about two weeks. I live with my mom and my cat, and I'm a Chunin. I've living in Takigakure all my life, but I can't say that I enjoy it here," I blurted out, never really having to introduce myself to anyone before, so I didn't know what to say and what not to say. But I knew for a fact that I shouldn't have told him about the seven tailed demon living inside of me.

He gave me a look that was, thankfully, not full of utter disapproval. I let out a breath of relief.

"Ah, not enjoying the Waterfall?"

I shrug.

"It's not the tropical paradise every other village makes it out to be. After awhile, the water and festivals grow old," I said matter-of-factly. Ryuu just laughed at me.

"I'd see you as a party girl, if I do say myself, yeah," He said and I felt like he was looking me all over. I suddenly wished I wore more clothing.

Digging through my mind, I came to the conclusion that I was, in fact, not a party girl. Considering that I hated humanity, I could not see how I could be seen as a party girl. I almost let out a laugh.

"No," I said simply.

Ryuu leaned back on the grass and I stayed standing. I felt slightly intimidated from his questioning, so I didn't push the conversation anymore. He closed his eyes and everything was silent for a moment.

"You seem like a pretty cool girl. You hang out here a lot?" He broke the silence. My eyes rolled around in my head, his approach at our relationship slightly pathetic, but somehow cute. I actually had to think about if I hang out around the training grounds a lot.

"Sorta. I need to train to stay in shape for missions," I said, twiddling my fingers together. He nodded.

"Wanna hang out sometime soon, yeah?"

At first, I didn't know how to answer. I fumbled and stepped forward, making Ryuu sit up and look at me straight ahead. Sensing his want to get up, I put out a hand for him to take. While grasping his hand, his touch burning my skin, I answered.

"Uh, sure," I said, forcing a giggle at the end to make it seem cute. I do actually want to hang out with him, and my insides buzz with the fact that I may actually be gaining a friend in the near future.

Ryuu laughs.

"Where do ya live, yeah?" He questioned and I gave him directions to my hidden away house. He nodded, putting the directions away into his mental memory. I wondered if he was ever going to actually visit me.

He seemed quite legit, for his response was quite enthusiastic.

With a laugh, he put a hand on my shoulder and told me he'd see me later, hopefully sooner rather than later. I watched him walk off with a strange feeling bouncing around in my stomach, a smile creeping onto my face. All at one, I wished that I'd get to see him every day and talk to him all the time. I wanted to have a friend.

With my still ever-present smile on my face, I ran back home to the comfort of my bedroom. Mother was in the kitchen, making dinner, and I didn't feel the need to tell her about my day. I usually didn't talk to my mother about those sorts of things.

For the first time, I realized I don't just have Mina-chan and my mother to talk to.

Looking out my window, I long for him to return and to come up my window and sit and talk with me for hours, about everything friends talk about. I'd talk to him about Mina-chan, music, food, games, training, life. My emotions skyrocketed and I couldn't wait for the future.

"Dinner's ready!" I heard my mother screech from downstairs, and I bolted to the lower level of the house, completely ready for this day to be over.

…

…

…

Okay, this one's a bit short. But next chapter is a biggun'. Please review!


	4. Moments Can't Last Forever

Today's date is January 22, 2011! (I wonder when I'll post this…)

Oh, and this chapter is a big, awesome one! I can't wait to get started on it. I try to make each chapter at least 3,000 words and since the last one was only about 3,015 I want to make this one about 3,500-4,000.

…

…

…

Latching onto the ponytail tie around my wrist, I slowly pulled my hair into a ponytail at the top of my head. I let out a slow breath, letting the wind and air of Takigakure surround and embrace me. My muscles were completely relaxed and for once I felt at peace.

But moments can't last forever.

The familiar feeling of butterflies rose up in my stomach and I clutched my abdomen to try to make it stop. I didn't know how to make these feelings go away. I didn't know if I were actually getting sick, nervous, or excited. I may have been all three.

Letting the clip out of my hair, I let my bangs fall over my forehead. I had seen girls around the village have this hairstyle and I always had admired it. I lightly touched the minty strands of hair on my forehead and yawned. It was too damn early in the morning.

I had awoken at around six thirty. Usually, no matter what time I go to bed, I always wake up around eight, at a minimum. I've always had a thing for sleeping it, despite my mother always yelling at me for it. But, this morning, I was at a loss for what to do. My eyes cracked open at six o'clock sharp, and when I looked at my alarm clock to see the time, I groaned and refused to get up. I tried to make myself fall back asleep but it was to avail. I accepted defeat thirty minutes later and had made my way outside to my mother's balcony connecting to her bedroom. Good thing my mother was on a morning shift at the library.

I lifted my arms above my head in a stretch, and then down to my toes. My calves burned from the stretch, but I held the position until it subsided. My insides still churned with the unfamiliar emotion so I did some sit ups to try to eliminate the feeling. With no result other than a sore abdomen, I stopped and made my way downstairs, taking a small detour into my room to put on some socks.

Jogging down the steps of my staircase I felt my ponytail bounce on the back of my neck and the necklace I bought the other day jingle. It tickled and I let out a small giggle of delight. Just then did I realize how good of a mood I was in. Feeling the slipperiness of the wood underneath my sock covered feet, I twirled around at the base of the staircase, doing a ballerina-esque dance.

I imagined a large piano positioned in the living room, a man about my age, similar looking to Ryuu, tapping the ivory keys in a happy and upbeat tune. I made up my own tune in my head, adding a beat and some guitar licks, creating an energetic song inside of my head. Giggling some more, I danced, slid, moved, and twirled around my living room and kitchen, having more fun than I've had in awhile.

My heart beat increased and I could feel some sweat brimming around my forehead, but that didn't stop me. I danced into the kitchen and towards the refrigerator, opening the door and pulling out the carton of milk all while tapping my feet and humming along with the orchestra in my head. Pouring the milk into a bowl from the cupboard, I then added some cereal, perfecting my breakfast performance. I slid the bowl across the kitchen table for an excuse to dance to the other side.

I reluctantly sat down, slightly upset that the exciting moment had to end. I was pretty sure something like that wasn't going to happen again sometime soon.

Munching down on the crunchy flakes of my cereal, I pondered on what I was going to do today. I wondered if Ryuu was going to show up. Should I have gone out training to see if he'd be there? What if he came to the house while I was gone? Should I read a book today, snuggled in the comforts of the blankets in my bedroom? That way it'd still look like I was doing something even if he came over. But what if he didn't visit at all?

I sighed and decided to go with the book reading. I wouldn't be wasting my time, either. I've spent days and days just lying in bed and reading books before. It was amazing how easy it is to get sucked into another world in such a short period of time.

The bowl made a "ding!" sound when I dropped it into the sink, probably from the carelessness in which I put it in there with. I didn't mind, the noise reminding me of my previous dance party I had about twenty minutes ago.

I went into our living room, searching the bookshelves for a good book to read. I recognized most of the ones on the shelf, from my countless hours of devouring the pages contained on the shelves. My eyes scanned the bookends for an interesting title or possibly a new one. Mother might have brought one back from the library.

My eyes landed on a title I've never seen before named _Chakra Infusion in Everyday Items._

Slipping it from the shelf, I skimmed the pages in hope of something interesting. Smirking at what I read, I decided to take it and I walked back up to my room.

From what I've read, or skimmed, the book was mainly about how Chakra can be put inside of things you've never even expected, such as toothpaste, plants, and even clay. I snorted and wondered how the hell Chakra in toothpaste would be useful.

Curling up in my covers on my bed, I turned on my lampshade and propped myself against the wall.

My room was small, so I had my bed shoved up against the left side of the room, near the door. The room was basically a narrow hallway, due to no items being in the middle and all of my stuff being on either side of the room. At the very end of the "hall" was my window. I had my bed, nightstand and bookshelves on the left side of my room, while my dresser, desk and chair, television, and radio on the right side.

I opened the first page of the book and began to read, Mina-chan waking up from her nap on my desk chair and coming over to curl up in my lap. My hand moved to lay on her stomach and she purred, the situation very peaceful.

I stayed like that for awhile and when it came to be about two thirty I got up and let Mina-chan outside to let her do her business. I got an apple and munched on it when I went back to reading.

The book was surprisingly really awesome and informative, as I now know how to infuse my Chakra into my tea and how to make my blankets conserve more warmth. Trying out the latter technique by focusing my Chakra into the fibers of my blanket, I felt the newly added warmth almost immediately. Taking in a deep breath, I leaned down more into my pillows and let the book fall onto my lap and I closed my eyes. My muscles relaxed and my mind was at ease.

Suddenly, there were three consecutive taps on my window.

My eyes snapped open and I looked around my room for the intruder. Finding no one and nothing, I got up and went to the source of the sound. Cautiously, so much that I was tempted to go grab a kunai knife from my ninja pack, I peaked my head over to the window only to find Ryuu, and two other boys.

With my muscles tight along with my face and my hands shaking, I lifted my window open. I didn't know if I was shaking because I was happy that Ryuu came to visit me, or because he had brought two other boys I don't even know.

I popped my head out of the window and I saw Ryuu wave at me.

"Hey!" he exclaimed while his friends did nothing. I slowly waved back, unsure of what to do. I just stood for a moment, analyzing the situation. Ryuu seemed to do the same.

After awhile, he spoke again.

"You gonna let us up or not?"

I noticed that he said up and no in, so I assumed he wanted to use my window. Considering that it was on the second story of my house, I was confused on how he was supposed to get up. Then I remembered that he was, in fact, a ninja just like I was.

Trying to open my window even more, I beckon from him and his "partners" to come up. I didn't even think about how weird it was that I was letting a boy I met the day before and two boys I've never seen in my life into my room.

They latch their feet onto the walls of my house and make their way up, walking horizontally up the wall. I smirked. I could do that too.

Ryuu entered first, swinging himself into the hall part of my bedroom, looking around. I stood by my bookshelf, my hands fiddling with the white skirt I was wearing. He looked at me and smiled making the butterfly army reinvade my stomach.

"Hey," he said roughly, and I blushed.

"Hi," I said back, smiling.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought my buds, yeah. They're cool people and won't try anything, I promise," he reassured me and I nodded, suddenly very sure of this whole situation.

'_You can handle this, __Fū, they're just males,'_ I tell myself and I take a deep breath. It's nothing to freak out about.

"Hahaha, that's what you think!" one of the boys yelled from the outside, and I was suddenly glad that my mother wasn't home then. This boy was loud.

My eyes widened when I processed what he said and I pulled down the long sleeves on my black tee shirt. They covered my wrists and I wished I could hide my whole body in them.

Ryuu saw my look and gave me another smile. "Don't worry, Fū, he was just kidding, yeah."

I laughed, covering my worry. "I know, I'm not stupid," I shot back, sitting down on my bed.

The two boys eventually pulled themselves into my room. I took this time to take in their appearance. One had long red hair, going down to his middle back, with freckles around his eyes and nose. His hair was tied into a pony tail and his skin was a nice tan.

The other one was a pale boy with short, cropped black hair and tattoo's along his arms. He came in last and saw me, giving me a smirk. I waved.

"Guys, this is Fū, the girl I met yesterday, the one I was telling you about," he spoke. I blushed. He had been talking about me.

"And Fū, this is Hotaka," he said, pointing to the red haired one, "and that's Sheiji," he said pointing to the black haired one.

I nodded. Why were they here?

Hotaka flopped down onto my desk chair, pulling out a kunai knife out of his pocket, making my reflexes jump and I stood up, looking at him. He chuckled.

"Calm down, girl, you're a ninja too," He said in a slightly dark way. I looked around his body for a ninja head band but found none. I was confused to what he meant but I decided not to question him. I shrugged my right shoulder, feeling my headband against my skin. I sighed. I could handle this.

"Soo..," I let out, unsure of what we were going to do. They looked at my questioningly. I shrugged, trying to say what I meant nonverbally. Ryuu seemed to catch my drift and sat down on the floor on the right side of my room, leaning against a free pace of wall. Seiji leaned against my bookshelf.

"So, Fū, what do you usually do here, all stuck up in this little house?" Ryuu asks, and I'm beginning to wonder if he figured out that I don't usually leave here much. I sighed.

"Read," I said boringly. Seiji snorted and I glared at him.

Ryuu snapped his hands together and looked at me. "Well," he started, "that's going to change,"

Looking at him questioningly, I stood up due to his hand grabbing mine. He pulled me down to the floor and then stood back up again. Flipping on my radio, music filled the room. He returned to his original position on the floor, adjacent to me. Seiji and Hotaka stayed where they were.

Somehow, things began to flow. Ryuu just started talking. He seemed as if we were best friends since birth. I didn't know how to react, so I basically just played along, but eventually I stopped pretending and actually _talked_ to him. We talked about tons of things, like food, parents, school, shinobi and kunoichi, and music. He always had something to say, in a non-obnoxious way.

He didn't insult my music choices like I thought he would. I had imagined people neglecting and shooting down my musical choices and favoring because I didn't listen to the pop and crap they play in the village. But Ryuu liked it.

"Do you play an instrument?" I had asked, crossing my fingers that he said yes, particularly the piano.

He shook his head, to my disappointment.

"Nah, I'm more of a listener, yeah, not a player."

I didn't express my wanting of the ability to play the piano. I stayed silent.

After awhile, Seiji and Hotaka stopped being awkward and actually joined in on our conversations. I cleared my throat after about two hours of just conversing.

"Are you guys hungry? I think my mom just went grocery shopping…," I said, in hopes to get them out of my room. I was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic from being confined in a normally small space for one person, but now with three others.

Seiji laughed and grabbed his stomach. "I could go for a huge bowl of ramen right now!" he exclaimed, standing straight up from his leaning position and heading towards the door. I stopped him in his tracks.

I looked at all of them.

"Do **not** touch anything," I said with confidence in my voice. I knew that if something were to break I wouldn't have the guts to tell my mother I had three boys in my house, and I'd probably tell her I broke it myself and I'd be yelled at. All in which I did not want to happen because my mother can be a controlling bitch sometimes.

The boys seemed un-phased. All three of them seemed to nod their head at the same time.

Ryuu let out a snort-laugh and sauntered up to me, latching his arm around my shoulders. I tried to keep my eyes normal.

"We won't break anything, Fū. You have nothing to worry about," He said with a slightly cocky attitude. I smiled at him and I realized that I didn't want to let this "friendship" of ours fall through. And if I didn't want that to happen then I couldn't and wouldn't tell him about my demon. I had to make sure he didn't find out from anyone else in the village, also.

"Hey…," I murmured, attempting to start the conversation.

He looked at me, his arm still around my shoulders. He didn't say anything.

"I'm not all that…popular…in the village…so..," I mumbled, trying to spit the words out.

Ryuu laughed, deep vibrations coming out of his chest. "Don't worry; I still think you're cool. It's not like I'm gonna go around bragging about you, yeah," he said normally.

I sweat dropped. That was charming.

"Haha…thanks..," I said uneasily, fiddling my fingers together some more.

My social skills weren't the best, but I still felt as if I should have some knowledge on how to deal with boys and just overall situations like these. I needed to get my point across, but I wasn't sure on how to do it. Being blunt is somewhat rude, while slowly nudging into may seem to be a bit annoying.

"But…really, I'm not a total dork..," I said, trying to seem confident with myself, not having a huge ego.

Ryuu seemed to agree. "Oh, I know, trust me, yeah," he mumbled, and I wondered what he meant by that.

"I just don't get along with people very well," I said.

"Well, I'm sure you're valuable to other people," he said, removing his arm from around my shoulder. I wondered what he meant by that. Valuable? I pondered his strange word choice.

"Yeah, my cat and my mom," I said nonchalantly, but Ryuu seemed to find this hilarious.

He let out a loud, slightly obnoxious laugh, the noise bouncing off the walls and cutting out the music still coming out of my bedroom. We had reached the living room, Seiji and Hotaka following right behind us. The boys seemed to be marveled by my house.

"_Sweet_ T.V.!" Seiji complimented, not even stopping when he reached the base of the staircase, running across the hall and grabbing the arm rest of the couch in the living, pushing himself up into the air and catapulting himself onto the couch. Hotaka laughed and did the same.

My eyes bulged out of my head, and before I could stop myself, I yelled, "What the hell are you doing!"

The boys looked at me like deer in headlights.

"Watching television!" Seji exclaimed, and I fumed.

"What the fuck did I say about not touching anything?" I seethed, my hands balling up into fists.

My anger boiled inside of me. My eyes twitched and I felt the demon and it's charka pooling up in my stomach. I let out a huge breath, my nostrils flaring.

Hotaka put his hands in front of himself, Seiji following suit.

"Woah, woah woah, calm down," Hotaka said slowly, talking to me ask if I were a child. I got even angrier.

"Don't tell me what to do!" I exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the boy. I didn't know why I was so angry.

"Fū, calm down, all they did was sit on your couch," Ryuu said soothingly, grabbing my fisted hands and flexing them out so they entwined with his. I sighed and closed my eyes.

_It got to me again._

I usually didn't know whether or not I was angry because of the seven tails or because of my hormones. But today I did. I wasn't on my period, thank _god _(I'm a raging bitch at least once a month.), and I could feel the demon's chakra getting into my own.

But then again, _this_ was why I hated humanity.

"But I told them not to!" I said, quieter than before. I felt the demon's energy leaving my body.

"I know, I know," Ryuu said, letting go of my fingers, "Guys, get off," He said, turning to his friends. They complied.

"Thank you," I breathed, my shot nerves turning back to normal.

"She's got some serious anger issues..," I heard Hotaka whisper to Seiji, but I decided not to reply for I wasn't supposed to hear. Ryuu and I moved on to the kitchen.

Opening the refrigerator, I pulled out some cartons of instant ramen, due to Seiji's comment a while back. Throwing the pack to said boy, I smirked, still having some resentment towards the boy due to his previous actions.

"Someone's feisty," he said with a sly smile on his face. I felt awkward at his expression, but threw one to Hotaka and Ryuu. Ryuu caught his and walked towards me, looking as if he had to say something.

"What time is it?" He asked. I smiled.

"About five, why?"

Ryuu cursed and set down his cup, his eyes shooting around the room. He stopped on me.

"Fū, I'm sorry, but I have to step out for a bit, but I'll be back within the hour," He said with an apologetic voice.

"Why-" He cut me off.

"I'll be back soon," He said and rain up the stairs, and I was confused for a moment, but then I remembered he probably wanted to leave the way he came in.

And then I was left alone with two boys.

"Soo…," Seiji started off, and I snorted.

"Eat your damn ramen," I commanded and Seiji replied. I suddenly wasn't very hungry.

It was an awkward couple of moments, watching the two boys eat. No one said anything and the only noise made was the sound of slurping and chopsticks. I sighed.

Seiji finished before Hotaka, practically vacuuming the whole pack down his throat. I was amazed at boy's abilities to eat. I would have only eaten one half of a pack in the time it took for him to finish his pack.

Hotaka finished a few minutes later and I had the honor of throwing away their meals.

"Where's the bathroom?" Hotaka and Seiji asked at the same time and I involuntarily let out a laugh.

"Uh..one's down the hall to your left, the other one is upstairs," I said, pointing to the said directions.

Hotaka got up and walked towards the hallway while Seiji followed me upstairs.

After dropping him off at the bathroom, I made my way back to my bedroom.

I sat down on my bed and looked up at my ceiling. What was I going to do now? I didn't know what to do with these two boys, and frankly, the only reason I let them stay was because Ryuu liked them. Now that Ryuu was gone, I had all the right to kick them out of my house, didn't I? I swallowed, wishing for Ryuu to return as quickly as possible.

I heard two toilets flush a couple seconds apart, and the bathroom across the hall's door opened, but I didn't bother to look in that direction. I stayed in my position on the bed.

I heard Seiji's feet pound across the floor to my bedroom, obviously looking for me. I waited for him to enter the room, but the footsteps stopped right before entering my room. I turned my head to go look for him.

But Seiji wasn't the one in the doorway. It was Hotaka standing there, somehow much taller than before. His expression was angry and dark and he looked at me with a nasty glare. He wielded a kunai knife in his hand, but didn't take a step forward.

"H-Hotaka?" I asked, standing up and bracing myself. Fear coursed through me and reached for my own weapons, but I remember I was in my regular clothes and I was without any means of protection. Taking in a deep breath, I said his name again.

I got no reply as Hotaka continued to stand in the hallway. I was worried and confused and I latched onto my bedspread, somehow planning to use it as a makeshift weapon. I suppose my lamp could have been a better idea.

All at once, Hotaka lunged at me, his kunai knife flying above his head, still in his hand. He reached me, pushing me to the ground in a loud "thump." I let out a grunt and wrapped both of my legs around his right one, pulling down harshly in an attempt to pull him off of me. With no result, I grabbed for his incoming hand holding the knife, and stopped him right before he slammed it into my face.

"What the hell are you doing!" I screamed at him, using all my strength to pull him away from me, for he was much stronger than I.

All of a sudden his body turned into a puff of smoke, blinding me. I still felt a body on top of me, but once the smoke had cleared, I saw a new person. This new being had shorter, cropped hair, similar to Seiji's, and the same color as before. His freckles disappeared and his eyes were upturned strangely.

'_A shadow clone?'_ I thought, my eyes narrowing. I slid my legs higher up on his right one and pulled down once again, making the new person slide down my body, shoving the kunai knife into my side.

I hissed in pain, clutching my new wound. "Fuck," I whispered, my hands already covered in blood.

The man stood up and looked at my withering form, but I didn't give up. I saw Seiji enter the room, look at the new man, and poofed into another stranger. I wasn't surprised.

This new person had the same black cropped hair with an orange, swirling mask covering his face. Just then did I notice that both of them had matching clothing on. They were wearing long, black cloaks that reached just above their feet with high collars and red clouds sprinkled over the cloak as a design.

The red haired one laughed. "This one was easier than I expected," he said, still looking down at me.

"Hehehehe, the leader will be so proud of our timing!" The black haired one said cheerfully and I wanted to spit on him.

Fusing all my will together, I pushed myself painfully off of the floor in a quick moment, somehow catching to two off guard. I ran towards them, my fist high in the air, and let out my fury. I lightly skinned the red haired one's cheek, his leg coming up and hitting me in the gut. I groaned in pain but didn't fall to the floor.

I considered running across the hall and jumping out my bedroom window, but I knew I wouldn't land correctly due to my bleeding form and probably shatter my legs.

I brought my leg up and kicked the black haired one in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall. I let out a small triumphant smile. The red haired one went to grab another kunai knife and I took this opportunity to try to land a punch to his face.

My hand was caught in his before I reached his face, so I tried my other hand, but that was caught as well. We were stuck in a standstill.

The black haired one was back up, now with a kunai knife, and due to my stuck position, he kicked me in my legs and sent me down to the floor. The red haired one dropped his kunai knife when I fell, so I reached for it and threw it up into the air, trying to aim for their heads, but I was blinded by anger and pain.

My floor was covered in blood, coming from the large gash in my side and the black haired one's newly bleeding mouth. The knife I threw missed completely and was now implanted into the wall.

A third person came in through the window, and I hoped to god it was Ryuu.

"Ah, great," the red haired one said in response to the new person and I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

I could tell the new person was looking at me. "Good job, yeah," he said and I froze. Was that Ryuu?

I felt the new person tug on the collar of my long sleeved shirt, pulling me up off the floor by my neck. I coughed in pain and had trouble breathing. He pulled me all the way up to the point that my feet weren't touching the floor. I squeezed my eyes shut so I didn't have to look my capturer in the eye.

"Look at me," he said and I slowly opened one eye. With my poor vision I saw a mop of blonde hair and the same cloak as the others, but nothing else. I decided to open both eyes.

With further evaluation, I saw a man, a few years older than me, with long blonde hair tied into a half pony tail with bangs covering one of his eyes. He had teal colored eyes and a very bored expression on his face.

"Did you really have to stab her? She's probably going to die on us, yeah," He said with no emotion whatsoever. I heard my blood dripping to the floor.

"Sorry, she fought back," The red haired one said.

The blonde one just looked at me, and I looked back, trying to put as much hatred in my eyes as possible. He let out a laugh at my expression, and my rage returned and I brought my knee up, kicking him straight in his family jewels.

He dropped me to the ground and let out a loud groan, crouching down slightly, shutting his eyes. I took this time to move on to the other two, but they had already been prepared as they were holding respective weapons, running towards me and keeping me down on the ground.

The red haired one grabbed my arm and yanked me up harshly, twirling the kunai around his hand and stabbing it into my _other_ side. I screamed out in pain and attempted to kick him in the nards too, but failed.

"You can't do two tricks twice, little girl," he said, dropping me to the floor, and this time I stayed there.

The blonde one seemed to regain his strength and stood in front of me, along with the two others. I looked up at them through clouded eyes.

"F-Fuck you," I spit out, blood seeping out of my mouth. I knew I was going to die if I didn't get medical attention soon, demon or not.

"Such a pretty mouth," the masked one said, leaning down by my side. I collected all the blood and saliva in my mouth and spit it onto his face, aiming for his one eye hole. I missed.

"EEEEW!" The masked one exclaimed, trying to wipe it off of his face while the other two sighed. I smirked.

"Can we just get out of here, yeah?" The blonde one asked, folding his hands over his chest.

'_No, no, no!'_ I suddenly wished for them to kill me and not take them with them, because I could deal with death. I didn't want to spend any more time with these people.

The red one nodded, and leaned down at my side. I was still clutching my side, my shirt and skirt now damp in my blood. I struggled to breath.

Not looking me in the eye, the red haired one lifted up his hand and struck it to the back of my neck. My eyes widened and I got one last glimpse of the blonde haired one before everything disappeared.

…

…

…

11 pages and 5,214 words later, this baby came out. I am proud.

Finished on January 22, 2011. Now I'm gonna go clean my room!

POSTED on June 19th hahahahaha I'm sorry world.

The next chapter is completely done if that makes you happy!


	5. Hammer and Nail

Quick update, eh? Go me for my good work ethic!

…

…

…

My mind screamed. It screeched from my vocal chords and into my spine and up to my brain. It burned. My skin burned. Against what, I didn't know. I arched my back and continued silently screaming.

I had woken up ten minutes ago. All I saw was a desk and two doors on either side of me. I didn't know was I was lying on top of, but it was wet and hot, thus extremely uncomfortable. I shuddered, the bare skin of my back rubbing against the rough wood of the platform I was on. I could feel the sweat run down my neck and arms. This room was boiling.

I had no clue where I was. The room was lit in an orange-like hue that very disorienting, and I disliked it. I felt my necklace fall to the side of my collarbone due to my struggling. Gasping for air, I dug my wrists into the binds that were holding me to the platform.

My eyebrows were pressing into each other and my ankles ached against the similar binds holding them down. I had no idea what these binds were, but they were stronger than anything I've ever come in contact with. My chest burned with anger and my eyes watered. I wasn't crying I was just angry.

My mind wandered all the way back to my house, where my mother and Mina-chan were. I wondered if they knew I was gone. I didn't know how long I had been knocked out. The last thing I remembered seeing was that head of blonde hair in my bedroom. I didn't know where he was anymore, nor the red or black haired ones either. I didn't even know where I was in the first place.

Twenty more minutes passed of my struggling and my angry tears were running down my face. I hadn't cried in years, and here I was, trapped in a dark room with wet eyes.

Were people coming to get me? Was I going to starve to death here? Or will I somehow escape? This was the first time I ever questioned if I was going to live or not. Throughout my entire life, I never thought about killing myself. Throughout all of the hate and pain I've went through, I wanted to show whoever was up in the sky that I was stronger than that. I wanted to live.

I swallowed the saliva that pooled in my mouth and collapsed back onto the platform, my arched back becoming straight again. My tears reached my lips and I sighed at the taste of water. Then did I realize how thirsty and hungry I was. I hadn't eaten since the ramen with the Hotaka and Seiji. Or whoever they are now.

I struggled for breath, the room now becoming unbearably muggy, and raced to find an escape plan. I had only been in here for about fifty minutes and was about to go insane.

My mother must be so worried.

I actually wondered if she was. Maybe she hadn't noticed, but what would happen when she did? Would she tell our leader? Would they send out a search party for me? Would they even care?

I was a monster after all.

What would my mother think of me having three boys in the house that I had just met the day beforehand? Would she be happy to know they beat me up and kidnapped me?

How could I have fallen for that? Was I really that stupid? I should have seen through their Genjutsu. All they were shadow clones, simple shadow clones. Had my eyes really not seen passed them?

I blinked and took in a breath of humid air through my mouth.

I screamed.

The sound ripped through my clogged throat and at first it was croaky and wretched. It hurt, but I didn't stop. I yelled, my screams echoing throughout the small room. I wondered if anyone heard me.

I could actually see why they captured me like they did. No one really knew about me so I wouldn't be greatly missed, while I possess a power greater than my whole village combined. Mother had told me before that if I ever released the thing inside of me, my whole town and possible neighboring ones would be in grave danger. And while my anger management wasn't my most skilled attribute, I've always managed to keep it together.

My wails never ceased, my desperate attempts at a rescue were pathetic. It's been at least four hours now and still no sign of any human life, let alone any life.

Another hour passed, and then another, until I finally stopped my screams. No one was coming for me, I was going to die. I began to accept it and I realized how truly weak I was. Was I really giving up after only four hours? How could I give in that easily?

I looked around the room and the bleak situation. There really was no escape plan.

I bent my neck downwards to come in contact with the material binding my throat. I couldn't see it from this position, but I felt the rough and burning material on my chin. I struggled and slipped my chin underneath the fabric, opened my mouth, and bit down on the rope like substance.

After a few seconds I realized that was _not_ rope.

I spit it out and turned my head to the side to spit out the saliva that was forming in my mouth. What the hell was that? It tasted absolutely horrid!

"Rat poison..," I murmured to myself, offended that they'd use such an unpretentious precaution against me. Did they know who the hell I was!

I let out a growl and pulled at the poisoned rope confining me. There had to be some means of escape. Unless, someone was out to get me and destroy me. I know there are others like me. The ones with demons inside forever damned to a life of solitude. Unfortunately, I have never met someone like me. I wondered if they had already gone through this confinement and were left to die.

I let out a breath and fell back onto the wooden platform. My bare back stuck to the top of the board with sweat.

I closed my eyes.

I awoke with a piercing hunger, my need for food greater than it has ever been in my life. I groaned and tried to pull my hands up to clench my stomach but to no avail, my hands were still bound.

"Food…," I moaned, tilting my head to the side.

A deep chuckle answered me, barely audible and I thought I was imagining things. It had been at least a day now, for I slept as if I was going to bed for the night. I was surprised I had never awoken, but I was thankful all the same. The only thing I had heard in the last twenty four hours was the sound of my own voice. Other pitches and tones seemed to be a void to me.

My eyes shot open.

I looked around me and saw that the orange glow that used to illuminate this room was gone. I was completely blind. I looked down, unable to see my own hands.

"Fuck," I whispered, trying to move my hands, my heart beating into my chest.

"Who the fuck is there?" I murmured harshly, my voice rising into a girlish shriek.

"I see you have awakened, Fū," a voice called out causing me to jump out of shock. My nerves were shot and I struggled to respond.

Hiding my fear I loudly proclaimed, "I've been awake for a whole day in here! Where the hell am I?"

The chuckling continued, the voices growing stronger. There were multiple people in here.

The voice grunted and footsteps made their way towards me. I tensed.

"I suggest you address me with more respect, Fū, for I am not afraid to hurt you."

Hurt me my ass!

"Like I would respect some guy who kidnapped me! I'm not afraid of death, you know. You can hurt me all you want but I'll never respect someone who's treated me with so much disrespect as you have!" I sneered back, my nose up high. I wanted to see him try to hurt me.

The voice let out a low hum and walked a few steps away from me. A light click reached my ears and orange light filled my eyes. My vision returned.

Instead of the empty and dirty room I was in only a few hours ago, it was now occupied with about eight people, all of different ages and appearances, some even races. I believe one of them was blue at first glance.

Blinking a bit, I glared at the man closest to me. He had bright orange hair and pale skin with very many piercings on his face. His eyes were a strange purple swirl, almost hypnotic. I ground my teeth together and tried to give him my meanest glare.

"You should learn to filter what goes on in your brain," He said, his face lowering closer and closer to mine. He stopped mere inches away and as I was gathering spit in my mouth to shoot straight into his ugly face, I felt his hand touching mine.

"What the fu-!" I started but stopped when I heard a single snap on my left index finger.

"Aagh!" I yelped, water burning at my eyes. I tried moving my hand but that made the searing pain worse. I felt my hand throb and pulse in agony and sucked in air at the feeling. Looking down I saw my finger bent diagonally to the side towards my thumb. I then looked away, feeling nauseous.

Was I really being this big of a baby in this situation? These guys look like they could kill me by talking. I couldn't let them see my pain, but they already have.

After the initial shock wore down, I began to pant and look at the orange haired man. He looked me in the eye.

"You are with the Akatsuki."

I flicked my eyes to the people around me. A man with black hair and large creases on his face stood against a wall, his arms folded onto his chest. His eyes were closed and the man next to him, the man I thought was blue, turned out to be actually blue. He had short spiky hair and a large sword on his back. I cringed.

Sitting on the ground was a large man with slicked back silver hair and an exposed chest. Standing next to him was a man in a facial mask with piercing green eyes I could see through the dark. My eyes moved across from them to the wall on the other side of me where a man with shaggy red hair and slanty yet feminine looking eyes stood.

With his back and one leg against the wall a blonde man stood, significantly younger than the rest. He had long blonde hair, half of it up in a ponytail with long bangs covering one side of his face with bright blue eyes. I looked into his blue orbs and I somehow caught his attention, and the moment he looked into my eyes I knew who he was.

"You!" I screamed, anger burning inside of me. His eyes widened at my yell and he looked amused. He thought I was a joke.

"You're the one who fucking tricked me! You screwed me over! You got me here! Do you have any idea what I'm going to do to you?" I growled, lashing out. I pulled and pulled at my restraints, desperate to run over there and strangle the blonde to death.

The blonde just smirked and stayed put against the wall, looking away. "I'd like to see you put a scratch on me," He said cockily.

"Deidara," the man with orange hair said. The blonde looked at him with a serious expression and let out a "hmph," and returned to his same bored expression.

"Fū, Akatsuki is an organization that is aimed to alter the world. We want to change it, save it from the corruption that exists in it today. And to do that, we need your help," the orange haired man murmured to me, loud enough so the whole room could hear. I snorted.

"You want me to help you after you kidnap me?"

He looked at me. "Akatsuki has a bit of a….reputation. If we had approached you in a calm manner, you probably would have panicked and ran away. While we wished to have gotten you here in a safe approach, we had to resort to….uncomfortable actions. We _apologize."_

My lips were flat, my eyes blank.

I raised my eyebrows at him.

The blonde jackass gave me a look.

"You expect me to believe that?"

The orange haired man sighed. "Fū-_san_," I groaned, not the formalities, "We only need you to compromise and we won't hurt you. Help us reach our goal."

For a second I actually felt like going along with him.

Then I rethought this entire situation. I was captured by that blonde guy, _Deidara_, and two of his friends who were probably in this same room. Then I was left to starve and wait in a hot room while being tied down. Then I got my finger broken by a guy who is now trying to make me go and save the world with me.

I swallowed the saliva pooling in my throat.

"We assure you, if you oblige, we will not hurt you."

"…What's in it for me?"

The orange haired man sighed once again and pinched the bridge of his nose. I could tell I was irritating him.

"Freedom, in the end."

He promised me freedom. That's what made me miss and wish for my mother. I wanted her to tell me what to do. I'm sure that, despite her lack of education, she could have helped me out. I wanted to go home and watch television with her and talk to her about my day at dinner. I wanted her to yell at me to flush the toilet and to empty Mina-Chan's litter box.

That's what made me say okay.

A loud grunt was made in the background, probably by the man with slicked back hair. I ignored it.

"I'm glad we have your consent. This means very much, Fū-san, for the time being you will spend your time with Konan."

Only now did I notice the girl standing behind the orange haired man. She had short blue hair with a paper flower pinned in it and I was thankful to have another girl in this organization, even if it was only one.

With a quick _slice _the bind on my left hand was released, next my right hand, then my neck. My right hand shot to cradle my broken finger, and I hissed in pain when I touched it. My feet were next and I sat up, only to be pushed back down.

"Just to make sure, Fū-san, we are going to put you on chakra restraint. We apologize, but we can't take any chances of our plans being ruined."

Before I had time to reply he had done some hand seals and muttered a jutsu, a blue glow flowding quickly from him to me, confining my whole body in a blue light. I suddenly felt lightheaded and tired, and I struggled to stand on my own. The orange haired man was already at the door.

"Oh, and by the way, I am Pein."

And then he was gone. No one helped me stand and it seemed as if all of the "hospitality" that was just shown had vanished. The black haired man left along with his partner without a glance backwards. The gray haired back looked back and said "You've got some fucking guts, kid," and left.

I scoffed.

The red haired man made his way to leave while his partner turned his head to me.

He didn't say a word. He just stared. I didn't stare back, I glared. I think I hated him more than anyone else. The bastard thought I was a joke.

Maybe I was being cocky for being so angry in the presence of this highly elite organization, but due to my poor social skills, I didn't know how to correctly react in these situations. I only really knew how to be a bitch.

After everyone made their leave I looked to Konan. She had a serious expression on her face and I got the impression she wasn't going to be easy to get along with.

She began to walk away without a word and I assumed I should follow. I walked behind her through corridors and chambers, doors covering the walls we passed by. I wondered what could possibly fill up all of this space.

While walking through the corridors, Konan began to speak.

"You will be spending your remaining time with me. I advise you to lay low, for the people who reside here are not friendly. They will hurt you, along with Pein, if you do something out of line."

That's when I began to suspect something was up. But the thought was just a spark and I shoved it into the back of my head. All I had to focus on right then was getting home, and it seemed that the only way to do that was to wait this whole thing out. I didn't know what they wanted me for, or how they were going to use me, but I knew that if I ever wanted to see my mother again I'd have to go through it.

After Konan showed me her quarters, a small room with a single bed, desk, chair, and dresser, she left to meet with Pein and gave me strict orders not to leave, and even if I got any ideas she would be able to tell. I decided not to test her and sat down on the cold ground of her room. She didn't give me any blankets or sleeping supplies, so I assumed the floor was my bed.

My tired eyes didn't seem to care about my sleeping conditions anymore and I curled up by the foot of the bed and dreamed of the days to come.

...

...

...

Woo! She has now entered the Akatsuki...and...DEIDARA! That's what she said!


	6. Retrospect

It's almost midnight and I'm starting this chapter. I always seem to type better at night.

On an offhand note, I adore the band Relient K. This chapter's playlist consists of only them, mostly just Deathbed and Jefferson Aero Plane, though.

Also, I like the f bomb. I never really say it in my own life, but in this story it seems to befitting, so I'm going to go trigger happy on it. Yay!

Enjoy.

…

…

…

My eyes shot open and I felt as if I could feel the veins in my eyes pulse. I knew they were bloodshot and strained. I shifted from my position on the ground, my back aching with pain at my uncomfortable sleeping conditions. If only I had a pillow…

I went into a sitting position and tried to make my eyes quickly adjust to the dark lighting. The only thing illuminating Konan's room was the light from the hallway and I turned my head to see if her bed was occupied.

In the most solemn was possible, if even that was possible, Konan lay on her bed asleep. She was positioned as if she was in a coffin, as cliché as that might sound. Her body was covered by a very light blanket up to barely past her hips; the rest of her covers not being used.

I cringed. What a waste of bedding.

A shiver took control of my body and my arms shook. It was cold as hell down here, if that made any sense.

I was surprised at how loosely I was being watched over. Konan seemed to be out like a light, but in the back of my mind I knew that if I attempted to escape I would be captured in a heartbeat, probably in a similar fashion to my abduction by the blonde guy.

My eyes narrowed.

I needed to find that canary bastard.

I stood up quickly and swiftly, also surprisingly quietly. I looked to Konan. Her nose twitched and I froze. After about fifteen seconds of peril, I resisted the urge to crack my aching joints. The stone ground of the Akatsuki layer was a brutal surface to sleep on.

My whole standing up procedure made me finally notice the stitching engraved into my sides. I held in a large groan at the throbbing pain, lifting up my shirt up enough to expose the scars.

I had two curved gashes on both of the sides of my torso, the one on my right starting on the same spot my belly button would be if it was on my side, and curved upward towards my breast. There were thick staples holding the wound together, for it must have been very deep. It had scarred over and was a sickly red and purple color.

The one on my left was much smaller. I must have gotten this one first. It was more of a stab and not a slice like the other one. It was a large hole, slightly irregular, and not that deep. I could see the outlining of a kunai knife being plunged into my skin, the angles making a slight diamond pattern in my skin. This one was fixed up with crude stitches pulling the two ends of the skin together.

I shuddered and brought my finger to touch one of the staples in the bigger gash and had to stop myself from crying out. That fucking hurt.

I pulled my shirt back down, not bothering to look at my gross wounds any longer. Then I noticed what a mess I must look like. Of course the one day I decided to wear a skirt was the day I get captured by the Akatsuki. The white cloth of the skirt was stained with my blood along with my shirt. My top was also ripped and warped at the neckline, probably from Deidara's grabbing of me by my throat.

I coughed at the memories of being strangled.

Oh shit. That was a loud cough.

I snapped my head to Konan to meet her totally open eyes. I froze.

Sucking in a deep breath of air, I braced my knees and sprang towards her. I made an attempt to slash at her face with my nails and got a few slices in before she snatched my hand away. I growled in anger, my eyes burning with rage. I needed to get out of here.

Stupidly, I yelled, "Let me go!"

Looking back on myself, I realized that that wouldn't have worked…on anyone.

Konan glared at me but didn't say a word; only increasing her pressure on my fist, making me howl in pain for it was the hand with my broken finger. I sucked in more air and used my other hand to make a hand seal behind my back, making me poof into the air.

I reappeared in the hallway and didn't allow myself to stop and think. I just started sprinting down the curved hallways. My head was filled with fog and words I didn't understand, a small voice telling me to go back and ask for their mercy, but I knew that if I didn't try to get out now I would regret it for the rest of my life.

My bare feet carried me pretty far; I passed too many doors I lost count. My head blocked out the yells coming from behind me and I was pretty surprised no one has caught me yet. I mean, I never really thought simply running outside would let me escape.

A door in front of me by about nine feet sprang open, the silver haired man from before coming out, shirtless. I deadpanned but kept running, trying to make it past him.

A voice from behind me, probably Konan's, yelled, "Hidan! Get her!"

I wasn't surprised when Hidan stood in front of my running path and grabbed my arm harshly. I was surprised when he yanked me up harshly over his shoulder, and I wasn't surprised when I stopped struggling. But I was surprised when was overtaken by my need to escape that I bit hit. I bit him straight on the shoulder.

From a distance, it would have looked like I was giving him a hicky.

I growled and dug my teeth farther into him, thankful that he actually was shirtless. I broke skin and for a moment, I thought I could rip a chunk of skin out, but my hopes were shortly shattered by me being thrown onto the ground.

With an "umph!" I hit the dusty ground and rubbed my sore bottom. Then I stood back up and glared at the now lightly bleeding man.

I ground my teeth together and launched at him again, only to be caught by the legs by someone unknown. I turned my head to see the blonde hair man lying on the floor with me, his arms clasped around my legs. With fury, I slammed my foot straight into his face, but he did not let go.

I roared, and I mean I literally roared and flipped my body over. I felt my demon's chakra spread over me and consume me. I basked in its power and I felt as if I could do anything. I could _feel_ my wounds healing. I felt the chakra restraint fail as if I had simply snapped it in half. With an evil smirk I slammed my feet back into the face of the fucking bastard and dug my newly sharpened _claws_ into the back of his head.

He looked up at me and smirked. I flamed.

"What! This is funny to you! I'm gonna fucking kill you!" I screamed at him, consumed with fury and rage. I released my hold on his head and swerved my hips harshly so I slammed him into the wall. He let go on my legs and I moved my target onto the man behind me.

"Hidan, is it?" I said cockily.

The large man was already charging towards me. He grabbed me by the neck and breathed into my face.

"Bitch, you better learn your fucking place or I'll personally send you straight to hell."

I laughed. "Oooh, scary…," I spit out.

Learning my place would have been a good thing at that time, because at that instant my back was slammed into the wall and I slid downwards to the floor, only to be met with Deidara. I sneered and went to attack him only to have him evade my every move.

"I'm going to kill every single one of you!" I roared, lunging at the blonde.

"You have such big words for someone so tiny," Deidara replied during our small game of cat and mouse. I didn't dignify his words with a response and only aimed to kill.

Suddenly, I was engulfed into his arms.

My nose met his toned chest painfully, the rest of my face being crushed into his torso. I struggled to pull away from the death grip like hug, but his arms were wrapped tightly around my shoulders so I couldn't escape.

My muffled screams were silenced by the time his slim hand slammed into the back of my neck.

…

…

…

I, once again, awoke with a start. I automatically knew that this was more drastic than the chakra restraint. I felt completely weaken, my breathes turning into wheezes. My eyes drooped and I was unable to curl my toes. With a yawn, I thoughtlessly stood up to leave, but found myself incapable of standing up.

It wasn't because I didn't have enough strength to stand up, but it was simply because I was chained to a wall.

I wearily looked back to my bound hands and sighed. I had really screwed myself over this time.

I sighed and fell back, my hands being clasped together by what looked like a thick and tough metal and I knew I didn't have the strength to pull myself away. I took in the deep breath and didn't even bother to take in my surroundings. I shut my eyes and tried to review everything that had happened in the past few days.

First, I was fooled into flirting with Deida-

Oh my god. I flirted with him.

I twitched, recalling my blushes and awkward touches with him that day on the training grounds. We had laughed; I had let him inside of my house! A boy! Is this what being a teenager is like? Falling for a simple Y chromosome in a matter of minutes? How could I have been so naive?

In retrospect, I did enjoy it and he did make me happy in that matter of time. But it was all a façade! A joke! All of it was to bring me here, to this situation! But still, at the same time, he was and still is a very handsome guy, and his charm is very…charming.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, my instincts told me to spit in disgust. And I did.

Unfortunately, I was too winded to gather all of the spit correctly and project it away from me. It came out as a fountain of drool from the corner of my mouth, falling down until it fell onto my skirt and slid down to the floor. I coughed, breaking the line of the saliva.

Well, that was gross.

"That was gross."

With all my strength I brought my head up to meet the voice. Looking up, I saw the blonde I was just thinking about, giving me a disgruntled and surprised look. I was so tired I couldn't even make fun of his face.

I just sighed and leaned back against the wall, the chain jingling as I did so. Deidara stood at his position at the door leading into the room, eyeing me.

"What the fuck do you want?" I said in a tired and stressed out voice, not bothering to look at him. I felt his footsteps move to stand in front of me.

"You broke my nose, yeah. I thought you'd want to know, yeah," He said in a snooty voice, almost nasally. I sneered. My kicks must have packed a punch. How's that for putting a scratch on you!

"_That's _what you came in here for? To give me that feeling of success? Don't you think that's a bit stupid?" I said with mirth in my voice. The boy didn't seem so amused. He grunted and folded his hands over his chest.

"I told you because I wanted you to calm the hell down. The leader's pretty pissed off about your little stunt and told me to come warn you about what may come. So get your little revenge thing out of the way and just _live_."

He said live in a way that made me uncomfortable, as if he knew something I did not. I already knew that all of the members of the Akatsuki were brutal people and weren't afraid to kill me if they got the chance, but I was pretty convinced that I'd get out of here. I didn't know how, but from Pein's little speech at my arrival, they seemed to have some sort of heart.

Maybe it was all just a show.

I didn't know, but Deidara told me to live, so I decided to listen to him for once.

"I'm pretty sure I'm alive and breathing right now, although I am depleted of chakra and chained to a wall," I spoke, looking up at the blonde man. He glared at me.

"The leader put you here for security purposes. Until you learn how to behave, you'll be stuck here, yeah," he spoke in a deadpan tone, obviously not caring if I was allowed to roam freely or not.

"Stop treating me like a dog, I'm human too, yah know!" I told him in a snippy voice. My eyes burned and I tugged on my chain, trying to get closer to him.

"Only partly," He smirked and my face fell. My heart dropped.

"W-what?" I stuttered in disbelief. He knew? Did they all know? Only then did I begin to wonder why they wanted _me_ in the first place. I was just a normal girl, accept, I wasn't. My eyes widened and I just breathed for awhile. I took in this situation.

They knew about me and probably the history of my life. They knew about the demon inside of me and all of the power it possessed. And I knew that's why they wanted me, to use my chakra and strength for their own good, and I had to wonder why.

"Hmph," I smirked, "I get it. That's why you captured me," I said looking Deidara straight in the eye. Only then did I notice the bandages around his nose, making him seem like he had a beak of some sort. I refrained from laughing.

"Not quite," He said with a funny look in the one visible eye he had, the other one being cloaked by his long bangs.

"And what does that supposed to mean?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"You're right, in a sense, but I can't tell you more than that, yeah. But tell me, are you really fifteen?"

I raised my eyebrows at his sudden change of topic. I wasn't done with my interrogation, and it seemed like he was beginning his own.

"That's irrelevant. Explain yourself!"

"Don't tell me what to do, I'm not the one held captive and chained to a wall," he said. He had a point; I was at the lower hand here. I guess it made sense to cooperate. I relaxed my shoulders and fell into a slump against the wall. Only then had I noticed I had pulled myself as far away from the wall as possible, making my arms flex behind my back and my knees ache from my standing on them. I curled my legs towards my chest and looked down at the floor. I didn't say a word.

I could practically feel him roll his eyes at me. "Don't go playing the baby game, we don't like that either, yeah. Just find some damn cooperation skills past that thick skull of yours."

Still looking at the ground, I said, "I'm turning sixteen in ten days."

His expression turned into a confused one, an innocent look coming onto his face. It was almost…_cute._

"What?" He asked and I mentally face palmed. Had he already forgotten what he had just asked me?

"You asked me how old I was. You're not very bright, are you?" I laughed, bringing my head up cockily and giving him a swerved smile. It didn't seem to make him very happy.

The next thing I knew he was crouching right in front of me with his face, and broken nose, inches away from my face. My breath hitched. My eyes froze. I didn't blink, but he did, and he breathed onto my cheek in an almost sensual way. From this position I could see all of his face and fully take in his features.

I must admit, his hair was very nice. It was very, very long and seemed to be really healthy, and was the most shocking shade of yellow I've ever seen. It was as if he dyed it. His eyes were a pretty pale blue, the left one being covered by a scope; I assumed it was from long range purposes. His choice in ninja accessories made my mind wonder to how he fought, for if he was in Akatsuki he must be a very profound and powerful ninja.

Overall, Deidara was downright handsome. But it wasn't like I was going to admit that, ever.

He glared at me. "Insulting your superiors isn't a very intelligent thing to do, Fū," He spoke in a dark voice, almost threatening. I shuddered.

"And what exactly would happen if I continued…to do…so?" My voiced wandered off as I looked at his face getting darker and darker. It was almost as if the devil was being projected through his face. Only then did I figure out that the Akatsuki were truly evil.

"We'll kill you," He said bluntly.

"Well that's straightforward, I totally haven't figured that out yet," I rolled my eyes and snickered, waiting for his witty reply which I knew was coming.

Instead, I was met with a slap in the face.

"I, no, we told you not to disrespect us and to go along with our rules and regulations, yeah. How long will it take you to understand. Maybe you're the one who isn't so bright," He said with a strict tone of voice. Where was the smirk? The cocky remark? I had barely known him for three days and I could already tell that was the type of guy he was. Maybe he was more serious than I took him for.

"It's not all fun and games, Fū, yeah."

It had never been fun and games for me.

"…I know," I spit out respectively; I could go without another slap.

"Hmm…," He hummed out. I hoped it was a positive thing.

Finally, he backed away from my face and looked me over. I cringed in disgust and tried to pull down my skirt for it had ridden up and exposed some of my thigh, but my hands were still clasped behind my back. Deidara resumed his smug expression and leaned back down on his hands and knees and clasped the rim of my skirt.

I stopped breathing again.

I brought my skirt down to a respective level and let out a low laugh, brushing my inner thigh as he stood back up.

"Only sixteen, yeah? What a shame…," and promptly left the cell without a word of goodbye.

I looked at the door, my brain wishing for him to never return and my heart yearning for him to come back.

…

…

…

LOOK AT THAT ROMANCE.

Did Maddie do a good job? Maddie hopes so. This chapter was finished on June 21, 2011! Summer break is here and I am free to write whenever I don't have a social life! (It's kinda scary, my social life. I'll have a TONTONTON of stuff like parties and sleepovers one week, and then the next week….nothing. Oh well.)

Well, that's it! Reviews make me smile and my smiles fuel rainbows.

Erm...it is now August 17th and I am posting this...don't expect a lot of updates in the future...my new obsession is FFVII. And I gotta focus on those stories right now. I'm so sorry, you guys. Maybe I'll pick this back...someday. Please don't hate me.


End file.
